Can you introduce yourself and your background?
I was born in Dijon, a city in eastern France. I graduated from EDHEC Business School with a Master of Science (MSc) in International Business Management, specializing in Marketing. During my third year of studies, I went to Hong Kong for a student exchange where I focused on International Business. Immediately after graduating, I moved to China in December 2011. I worked in a food import company in Shanghai for two years as a business development manager before joining Daxue Consulting.
What are you doing for Daxue Consulting?
My position at Daxue is COO Research Director: I am in charge of coordinating the project team, which include the Project Leaders as well as the Project Managers who collect information. I lead the efforts of both teams to sell and conclude the research projects. I also try to integrate new technologies and innovation in our working processes, for example, implementing store checks as a research methodology. On a daily basis, I do research and make proposals to sell to clients.
What recent project did you work on?
Recently, I collaborated with Lin Lu on a project on “How to export to China” for the International Trade Centre (ITC) , a joint agency of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations (UN). The project aimed to create a training program for five Asian less-developed countries (Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Burma and Nepal) including comprehensive material and tools on the Chinese trade environment, to help these five countries to prepare for exporting to China.
I also worked with a national association of a major fruit importing country to promote their products in China. The project aimed to provide them information about opportunities in the Chinese market, to develop the distribution of their fruits both offline and online, and to help them to build brand recognition in China.
A third project on which I worked recently was in collaboration with a major oral care brand: it consisted in optimizing their brand visibility in Chinese supermarkets to gain market share against competitors. We realized store checks in different cities to assess their products’ shopability, and provided them with key learnings from our research and customized recommendations to improve sales in China.
Do you have a particular sector you like to work on?
I don’t have a strong preference on sectors, but I like working on projects for B2B projects. In my opinion, B2B projects are less common and more challenging. They require you to have a strategic thinking and to adapt to specific sectors and products since the act of purchase is different from B2C.
What recent news did catch your eyes in China?
A recent piece of news that caught my attention is the Chinese government’s decision to invest 700 billion yuan in the development of wind power. This investment aims to increase installed capacity by more than 60% from 2015 to 2020.
Any hobby in Shanghai? Where would be your first choice for a dinner / party in Shanghai?
I like going for a walk in Shanghai and taking pictures of the city, in the French Concession for example. As for my first choice for dinner in Shanghai, I would go to El Luchador, a Mexican restaurant located in Xintiandi (新天地) and to party, I would pick Unico on the Bund.
